Tag: J.T. Bruett

Former Minnesota Twins first round pick Johnny Ard passes away

Johnny Ard

Broni John Ard who was better known as Johnny Ard was born on June 1, 1967 in Las Vegas, Nevada and passed away at the South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta, Ga on May 3, 2018 at the age of 50 from various medical complications.

Ard played youth and high school baseball in Hemingway in the Peedee region of South Carolina where he was a standout pitcher before moving on to a college career at Francis Marion.

The Minnesota Twins used their 1988 first round selection and 20th overall pick on 6’5″ RHP Johnny Ard out of the State College of Florida. The 1988 draft was not a particularly strong draft for Minnesota with the best known players being Pat Mahomes, Scott Stahoviak and J.T. Bruett. 

Like many future Twins players to this day, Ard started his pro baseball career in 1988 with Elizabethton under manager Ray Smith before moving up for a cup of coffee with the low A Kenosha Twins under Ron Gardenhire. In 1989 Ard posted a 13-7 record with a 3.29 ERA in 186 innings with the Visalia Oaks for manager Scott Ullger and earned a 1990 promotion to the AA Orlando Sun Rays who were then managed by Ron Gardenhire and as the staff ace he posted a 12-9 record with a 3.79 ERA in 180 innings and 29 starts.

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On December 5, 1990 the Twins traded the highly touted Ard to the San Francisco Giants along with a PTBNL (Jimmy Williams) for Steve Bedrosian. Ard spent the next three seasons bouncing between AA and AAA in the Giants system but it was a variety of injuries that kept Ard from reaching the big leagues. The Giants released Ard after the 1993 season. After sitting out 1994-1995 Ard got the baseball itch once again in 1996 and pitched for the independent league Aberdeen Pheasants and made 17 starts and posted a nice 9-4 record with a 3.37 ERA but retired from pro ball after that, I am not sure why.

Although Johnny Ard never put on a Minnesota Twins uniform in a big league game he still played a big role in Minnesota Twins history. We at Twinstrivia.com would like to pass on our condolences to the Ard family and friends. 

Johnny Ard GoFundMe page

Johnny Ard Obituary

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Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Danny Valencia & J.T. Bruett

The following players made their major league debuts in a Twins uniform.

Danny Valencia

Danny Valencia (3B) – June 3, 2010 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 19th round of the 2006 MLB June Amateur Draft. Who can complain about a 1 for 3 debut in the big leagues?

J.T. Bruett

J.T. Bruett (OF) – June 3, 1992 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 11th round of the 1988 amateur draft. Born a Badger, then became a Gopher and a Minnesota Twin. 

To see other Major League Debut’s as Minnesota Twins

The MLB June amateur draft is far from a science

2016 DraftThe 2016 MLB will take place June 9, 2016 in Secacus, New Jersey and the Minnesota Twins will have the 17th selection this year. There are already numerous mock drafts being published but as normal they are all over the board, so what else is new. Here is a list (with pictures) on MLB.com of their proposed top 100 2016 prospects.

Baseball draft are so different from all the other sports in many ways but the two main differences that stand out is that baseball drafts are more international than other sports and if you get drafted in baseball you can look forward to spend a number of years in the minor leagues before you have the experience and necessary skill sets to play in the major leagues. Sure there have been some players that went directly to the major leagues but they are rare and the last player to do so I believe is RHP Mike Leake who was drafted eighth overall in 2010 by the Cincinnati Reds from Arizona State and now pitches for the Cardinals. The last Twins player to be drafted and go straight to a big league mound was LHP Eddie Bane who also was from Arizona State.

The June amateur draft is exciting for the fans but it is serious business for the MLB teams that have spent lots of time and money watching these young prospects as they try to determine who is the best player available when it comes time to make their selection. Mistakes in a draft can and do haunt teams for many years. There are many ways to mess up a draft choice, the player may not turn out to be as good as you thought, you might have bypassed a star player, you might not be able to sign the player, the player and/or his agent may state they don’t want to play for you, and of course an injury may cut his career short. If everything goes your way you have yourself a baseball player but the odds are stacked against you.

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